Every person has melancholic moments within them, which can cause them to sink into a bittersweet mood and sadness. Since melancholy does not fit into today's zeitgeist and our culture of enjoyment, and is also suspected of being the basis of an abnormal mindset, we do not express it but rather suppress it. The valuable aspects and effects of this "wonderful character trait," characterized by seriousness, depth, and sensitivity, are explored by Josef Zehentbauer in his book "Melancholy - The Sad Lightness of Being." Three hundred years after Robert Burton's seminal work, Zehentbauer makes a case for melancholy, which should not be treated or even fought against, but rather endured as a "tension between sorrow and light." In doing so, he draws a wide arc. He refers to...